Ep. 27 The CES Letter - The Prophet Puzzle in Light of the Book of Abraham (pt. 7) - a podcast by The Ly Bros

There's a joke circulating around that "The only thing we can be sure Joseph Smith believed in was astrology, as he died wearing a Jupiter amulet."
Although the rumor is likely false, it shines light on the deep mystery of the nature and psychology of Joseph Smith. The more we dig, the more mysterious Joseph becomes. https://www.fairmormon.org/answers/Joseph_Smith/Occultism_and_magic/Jupiter_talisman
This paradox has been famously termed the "Prophet Puzzle" by non-Mormon LDS studies scholar, Jan Shipps, and continues to puzzle the field of Mormon Studies over 45 years later. https://www.sunstonemagazine.com/four-views-of-joseph-smith-historians-debate-the-prophet-puzzle/
In this episode, we discuss the competing, speculative theories on Joseph Smith's psyche in light of the problematic Book of Abraham translation and claim of historicity. While most "Prophet Puzzle" discussions lean on the Book of Mormon as its primary context, the Book of Abraham presents a more difficult problem in which we have more definitive historical knowledge about the translation process and artifacts. We try to tackle the unanswered questions that remain after one reads the LDS gospel topics essay on the Book of Abraham, in which the catalyst theory is proposed but no explanation given in reconciling Joseph Smith's claim that it was written by Abraham, "by his own hand upon papyrus".
Do you think Don Bradley's prophetic explanation, Ann Tave's "inspired visionary" argument, Dan Vogel's "pious fraud" hypothesis, or Christopher Smith's conman claims hold any water? Let us know what you think of the Prophet Puzzle question in the comments. 
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Google Drive link to Alejandro's "catalyst theory" argument: https://bit.ly/3a4GJFU
Why the CES Letter? (Blog post explaining my motivation for doing this podcast): https://medium.com/@BrandonLy1/why-the-ces-letter-a05254bc3950
Music: "This Is Everything" by Josh Woodward. From the Free Music Archive. CC BY

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